How hip-hop went from being shunned by big business to multimillion-dollar collabs
Updated: 4:56 PM CDT Aug 9, 2023
– This was like the three on three thing. They were trying some new (beeps). I remember, we were beating the (beeps) outta NSYNC that day, man. And I wonder if they remember that. PR person saw something, was like they got a (beeps) show tomorrow. Method Man is out there, elbowing Timberlake in the face. We can’t have that. (laughs) What’s up? This is Method Man, right here. And Men’s Health asked me to look back at my journey and show how far I’ve come with my health, my wellness, and all the other fly (beeps) I’ve done, all right. This is The Rewind. (dynamic music) This is our first photo shoot. This is our original promo pic. Well, this isn’t the pic, but promo picture day. Most of the crew wasn’t there again. As a matter of fact, this is one of RZA’s brothers, and Mike, who was a manager for us, road manager for us. He was in the picture, and I believe Mookie as well. Just dudes being dudes, being artists. Not knowing what the future held at this point in time, but knowing that we had something. Look at the attitude. It’s just raw, like straight off the block too, you know? Yeah, I love this, man. Wu-Tang Clan, I mean, we were, we come from an era before the tour bus. I mean, we didn’t even get a tour bus when we went on tours (beeps). We had a 15 passenger van. So everybody right there in each other face, stink breath, dirty feet, whatever the hell it was. And that, those bonding moments, you can never duplicate or try to recreate. They’re organic, they’re authentic. So, I mean, and what does that brotherhood look like now? We still a bunch of knuckleheads. We still, we don’t argue as much as we used to because everybody got kids. Not even kids, we got adults. So it always feels like a big family reunion whenever I get back around the guys. I think we’re more closer than ever than we were back then. It’s good. This was the Source Awards. And it was pretty cool because we were like the (beeps) of the night that night. We had one of the hottest albums out. I remember Biggie being there. Anybody that was hot in New York at that time was at that Source Awards. I believe it was in the Garden. This particular picture though, it was just them saying Wu-Tang get together and take a picture. All of us wasn’t even there either. They got the members that they could get at that point in time and (beeps). I think Dirty was drunk. No, I’m pretty sure Dirty was drunk. Enjoying the spotlight and running into other peers that were in the industry at that time. Other hot acts and things like that. That was always dope. But how come I never saw ’em prior to being famous? That’s the thing about it. You never see these people until you’re freaking famous, I think. But, I don’t know. Randomly, you’ll wind up in Justin’s and run into Heavy D, who your mom loves and tell him, my mama loves you, Heavy D. Or you run into Lauren Hill at Fuddruckers in the Village, you know what I’m saying? And then you guys go across the street and into the movie theater. You know, that movie theater in the Village, across from the basketball court? I saw Stargate there with Lauren Hill. And well, that’s a typical night in New York, NYC, ’90s. I could never dunk. I mean, I’m not good at basketball. I can get by a little bit, but I’m not good at basketball at all. I never really liked basketball. I was just, I liked contact, full contact sports. That’s probably why I did lacrosse, wrestling, and football. But I’m tall enough, I can dunk. Not as skilled as some of these other guys, or not even close as skilled as these other guys. But, yeah, I think I can. I did a couple of Rock N’ Jocks. This was like the three on three thing. They were trying some new new (beeps), new stuff for the Rock N’ Jock. And I remember NSYNC was part of it. And we were, we beat them kids up. I wonder if they remember that. And I had KG and Damon Stoudamire, Mighty Mouse, on the squad, as well as Cam’Ron, Cam’Ron’s a GOAT. He the GOAT. I remember we were beating the (beeps) outta NSYNC that day, man. And I, ’cause the producers came over and was like, guys, guys, can you take it a little easy on the guys, this, that, and the other. I know they didn’t ask for it, but the producer saw something, or maybe their PR person saw something. Was like, they got a show tomorrow. Method Man is out there elbowing Timberlake in the face. We can’t have that! Chris Kirkpatrick just got smacked by Redman. You know, (beeps) like that. My style is no style. I would say my style is throw it on. (laughs) Pretty simple, throw it on. I don’t know, I don’t know. We spent a lot more time away from home. I remember being on the road and thinking like, damn, I can’t wait to get back home and tell everybody what we were doing. But it was just that the pull of my neighborhood that made me wanna be there more than on the road. But after a while, it slowly dwindled to, why am I coming back? And to this day, I still, that attraction still pulls me back. As far as this picture, I don’t even know where the hell I was at, man. We were genuine then. We were like pure still, the industry hadn’t (beeps) us up yet. Well I wouldn’t say the ’90s, but later on ’cause I was very antisocial. You know, that’s just how Wu-Tang rolled and (beeps). Shaq. No, they wouldn’t be surprised at that. No, no, no. Hmm. Shawna? – Yeah? – Who I know that’s mad (beeps) famous I used to holler at all (beeps). – [Shawna] Janet Jackson. – Oh yeah, Janet, Janet Jackson. Yeah, and that was with Skytel two ways, back and forth and stuff. But it was always cordial (beeps). Nothing any, no innuendos or anything like, nothing exciting like that and (beeps). Yeah, Janet Jackson, mad cool though. Mad super duper cool, man. If y’all don’t know Janet black, I know she black. I know she black. Like y’all think she black enough, yeah she is. Black enough. I don’t know. I say over the years, I never really paid attention to it. When you’re young, your metabolism so fast. You don’t even think about, am I gaining too much weight? And I was never one of the fat kids, never one of the bony kids, just somewhere in the middle. My journey started for me later on in life when I just got real dissatisfied with everything about myself. And one of the major parts of it was I didn’t feel healthy. So I wanted to do something that would not only improve my health, but improve my longevity as far as career and life and (beeps), yeah. – [Interviewer] How old were you when that dawned on you? – 40. I made a New Year’s resolution. I was gonna get my GED, ’cause my kids were about to graduate high school. And like they’re not getting their high school diploma before I do. Take care of my taxes, and get fit. And all of ’em worked out. All of ’em worked out. God bless. I’m not locked up for taxes. For me, I was always lucky to have friends that were creative. My first set of friends in grade school loved comic books. We had a teacher that was dope because she saw we’d bring the books to school, trade ’em and stuff like that. Take away from our work. So what she did was she made a comic book club that we would do after school. Sit there for like an hour after school and create our own comic book. The thing for me that really drew me in about the books were some of the parallels that it drew to real life, and especially Marvel. ‘Cause Marvel always patterned their books, they lived in real neighborhoods, as opposed to DC. Not taking anything away from DC ’cause Superman is tops, Batman is the man. But Spider-Man’s from Queens, you know what I mean? Captain America’s from Brooklyn. How do you match that, you know what I’m saying? And it’s always helped me with reading as well. Improve my vocabulary. And just always taught me to think outside the box, as well as gave me a moral code. So, you know, when it came to the hip hop all that plays a part. Your whole life experience has to be on this paper, and you only got 16 bars to do it. You’re gonna try and throw in as much as you know, or as much to express yourself as much as you can in those 16 bars. When I met Mary, I met her in… It was at Puffy’s birthday party. And Big had wanted me to come through and perform The What with him that night. She came over and said, what’s up? And was like, yo, (beeps) Bring the Pain, that’s my (beeps), blah blah blah. And I was like, I (beeps) Love No Limit, that’s my (beeps). And then I didn’t see her again until it was time to do the remix. ‘Cause her and Puffy was super tight. And she came to the studio and everything. Everything was, it wasn’t any tense, it was never any tense feelings in the room ever, when Mary’s around. She bring the party with her. She’s genuine. So it’s easy to get along with her. That’s simple, that’s simple. Minding my business. I just mind my business. After you perform at a club, there’s an after party. I didn’t make a lot of those. I think that’s the reason why I stayed outta a lot of trouble. That and I mean, I had a big crew, you know. Ain’t nobody really wanna (beeps) with us like that, you dig? We didn’t have a lot to prove any (beeps) way. We always came humble. I just think that dudes saw the authenticity of the group and was like, yeah, don’t try those (beeps), period. The happiest period in my life was when my children were born. And they’re amazing, still to this day. They’re adults now, but they’re still amazing. And like, I’m still learning stuff from them. My son just recently got married, was fantastic. Yeah, the kids, just the kids. What I attribute to being in the shape that I’m in, consistency, lifestyle, commitment. Wanting to see what the next level looks like, and if there is one. This picture, however though, this was when I did Men’s Health the first time. And you guys came through super early in the morning. And it was, that was a pretty good morning and (beeps) because I started my journey working out 4:00 AM in the morning, I would go to the gym. This had went on for like three months straight. But what I attribute it to is strong discipline and mental capacity to know what I wanted, and to fight for it every day. I feel pretty accomplished. But you can never be too comfortable. I would say being the best grandpa. The most fit grandpa. There you go. Boom! Bong! And the thing that’s gonna keep me motivated in that right now is Jordy, my grandbaby. He’s a good guy, man. He’s very strong though. He’s hands are huge. I feel sorry for any kid that gets into a fight with him. Hey, this is Method Man, man. Signing off for Men’s Health. Drink water and mind your (beeps) business. (dynamic music)
The signs of hip-hop’s influence are everywhere — from Pharrell Williams becoming Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director to billion-dollar brands like Dr. Dre’s Beats headphones and retail mainstays like Diddy’s Sean John and Jay-Z’s Rocawear.It didn’t start out that way.The music genre germinated 50 years ago as an escape from the poverty and violence of New York City’s most distressed borough, the Bronx, where few wanted to invest in its businesses or its people. Out of that adversity blossomed an authentic style of expression, one that connected with the city’s underserved Black and Latino teens and young adults, and filtered through to graffiti, dance and fashion.As hip-hop spread throughout New York, so did a culture.“Hip-hop goes beyond the music,” said C. Keith Harrison, a professor and founding director for the University of Central Florida’s Business of Hip-Hop Innovation & Creative Industries certificate program. “Hip-hop always knew, as Nipsey Hussle would say, how to get it out of the trunk, and so they’ve always had to have innovative business models.”That spirit of innovation has helped push hip-hop past big business’ initial resistance to align with the genre to become the most popular music form in the United States since 2017. Hip-hop’s impact on the $16 billion music industry and beyond is now so widespread, experts say it becomes difficult to quantify.Author Zack O’Malley Greenberg estimates that hip-hop’s five wealthiest artists were worth nearly $4 billion in 2022 by themselves. It was no idle boast when Jay-Z rapped in last year’s DJ Khaled hit “God Did,” “How many billionaires can come from Hov crib? Huh, I count three — me, Ye and Rih, Bron’s a Roc boy, so four, technically.” Jay-Z, also known as Hov, Rihanna and NBA star LeBron James are all on the Forbes World’s Billionaires List for 2023, though Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, dropped off the list after his controversial split with Adidas.Hip-hop artists have achieved that level of success because they are much more than their music. They are tastemakers and trendsetters in lifestyle-defining products from fashion to high-end champagne.“Hip-hop knows how to put butts in seats, no matter what context you’re in, and that’s what businesses want,” said Harrison, who is also a professor in the University of Central Florida’s DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program. “Emotion, return on emotion — that’s what hip-hop does differently. They have another level of emotion.”Because rappers often tell stories fans relate to or aspire to, weaving brand shout-outs into their rhymes and product placements — sometimes paid for, sometimes not — into their videos becomes a powerful marketing tool.In her forthcoming book “Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion,” pop culture expert Sowmya Krishnamurthy addresses what people get out of “putting somebody else’s name or logo across your chest or across your back.”“In America, in a capitalist society, how else do you show you’ve made it?” Krishnamurthy said. “One thing I kind of joke about is: People can’t see your mortgage. But they can see a nice chain. They can see the clothes that you have on. That is an immediate signal.”In hip-hop, the pressure to fit in and show off is heightened.“You have a genre that historically has a lot of people who grew up with little to nothing,” Krishnamurthy said. “The aspiration is inherent.”And probably no product has been as successful at connecting with hip-hop as footwear. Consequently, rappers get their own sneaker lines without ever taking part in a sport, said Harlan Friedman, host and creator of the Sole Free podcast on sneakers and street culture.“A seventh grader can’t afford a $20,000 rope chain and medallion, but maybe he could afford a pair of (Nike) Dunks or a pair of (Air) Jordans or a pair of Adidas,” Friedman said. “That gives him that little bit of clout, that he’s like his favorite artist or athlete, and it kind of gives him that feeling like, ‘Oh, I’m like them.’”Adidas was the first major company that saw rappers as potential business partners, Friedman said. But they had to be convinced.Even though the company had seen an unusual spike in sales of its Superstar shoes in the Northeast in 1986, it wasn’t ready to attribute that to rap group Run-D.M.C. and their hit “My Adidas.”When company execs saw the group ask fans to show off their Adidas and thousands removed their shoes and waved them in the air at a Madison Square Garden performance, they were sold. They signed Run-D.M.C. to a $1 million deal that resulted in their own shoe line in 1988.Now that hip-hop is a multibillion dollar industry with widespread influence, it’s easy to forget it wasn’t always Courvoisier and Versace for its stars.Even after Adidas’ success, companies still balked at partnering with hip-hop acts because they felt that “having young Black and brown people wearing their clothing simply wasn’t on brand and, in many ways, it was kind of denigrating their brand,” said Krishnamurthy, whose book will be released Oct. 10.“But when that kind of money is being spent and people really saw the power that rappers had to change what somebody might wear, … they started taking notice,” she said.These days, singer-and-sometimes-rapper Rihanna has a deal with Puma. Travis Scott has his line of Nikes with a backward swoosh. And Cardi B has her line of Reeboks.Companies of all sorts now court rappers and their audiences, hoping to join the ranks of Timberland — which at first resisted associating with the genre it saw as being counter to its working-class base — Hennessy cognac and anything Gucci as hip-hop approved brands.“They think, ‘We can either work with them and really embrace the culture or we’re going to miss out on being young, cool, and, of course, making money,’” Krishnamurthy said.Few events in hip-hop culture’s ongoing march into the mainstream can match McDonald’s introduction of Saweetie ‘n Sour sauce for the fast food giant’s Chicken McNuggets in 2021. Packets of the sauce are now available for $20 apiece online.At the time, the California rapper was far from a household name. But Jennifer Healan, McDonald’s USA’s vice president of brand, content, and culture, said Saweetie was a natural fit for the company’s “Famous Orders” campaign, which has also featured Scott as well as one of hip-hop’s biggest celebrity couples, Cardi B and her husband, Offset, for Valentine’s Day.“Saweetie is a longtime McDonald’s fan, and she brought a unique twist to our campaign by mixing and matching her favorite menu items — which tapped into our fans’ passion for food hacks and new flavor combinations,” Healan said.The promotion worked well for both McDonald’s, which Healan said led many to try Big Macs, and Saweetie, who soon had her own Netflix show and was a musical guest on “Saturday Night Live.”Jake Bjorseth, founder and CEO of ad agency trndsttrs, which focuses on connecting companies with younger audiences, said he has been trying to get longtime client McDonald’s to commission an entire hip-hop album based around part of its jingle, “Ba da ba ba ba.”The partnership between brands and musicians will only grow tighter in the next 10 years because audio is a more effective way to connect on social media, Bjorseth said. And hip-hop is more versatile at making those connections.“Hip-hop is literally built from music being repurposed and remixed from previous genres,” he said. “ … I feel personally connected to hip-hop and it is a seamless, authentic connection and how we express ourselves.”
The signs of hip-hop’s influence are everywhere — from Pharrell Williams becoming Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director to billion-dollar brands like Dr. Dre’s Beats headphones and retail mainstays like Diddy’s Sean John and Jay-Z’s Rocawear.
It didn’t start out that way.
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The music genre germinated 50 years ago as an escape from the poverty and violence of New York City’s most distressed borough, the Bronx, where few wanted to invest in its businesses or its people. Out of that adversity blossomed an authentic style of expression, one that connected with the city’s underserved Black and Latino teens and young adults, and filtered through to graffiti, dance and fashion.
As hip-hop spread throughout New York, so did a culture.
“Hip-hop goes beyond the music,” said C. Keith Harrison, a professor and founding director for the University of Central Florida’s Business of Hip-Hop Innovation & Creative Industries certificate program. “Hip-hop always knew, as Nipsey Hussle would say, how to get it out of the trunk, and so they’ve always had to have innovative business models.”
That spirit of innovation has helped push hip-hop past big business’ initial resistance to align with the genre to become the most popular music form in the United States since 2017. Hip-hop’s impact on the $16 billion music industry and beyond is now so widespread, experts say it becomes difficult to quantify.
Author Zack O’Malley Greenberg estimates that hip-hop’s five wealthiest artists were worth nearly $4 billion in 2022 by themselves. It was no idle boast when Jay-Z rapped in last year’s DJ Khaled hit “God Did,” “How many billionaires can come from Hov crib? Huh, I count three — me, Ye and Rih, Bron’s a Roc boy, so four, technically.” Jay-Z, also known as Hov, Rihanna and NBA star LeBron James are all on the Forbes World’s Billionaires List for 2023, though Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, dropped off the list after his controversial split with Adidas.
Hip-hop artists have achieved that level of success because they are much more than their music. They are tastemakers and trendsetters in lifestyle-defining products from fashion to high-end champagne.
“Hip-hop knows how to put butts in seats, no matter what context you’re in, and that’s what businesses want,” said Harrison, who is also a professor in the University of Central Florida’s DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program. “Emotion, return on emotion — that’s what hip-hop does differently. They have another level of emotion.”
Because rappers often tell stories fans relate to or aspire to, weaving brand shout-outs into their rhymes and product placements — sometimes paid for, sometimes not — into their videos becomes a powerful marketing tool.
In her forthcoming book “Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion,” pop culture expert Sowmya Krishnamurthy addresses what people get out of “putting somebody else’s name or logo across your chest or across your back.”
“In America, in a capitalist society, how else do you show you’ve made it?” Krishnamurthy said. “One thing I kind of joke about is: People can’t see your mortgage. But they can see a nice chain. They can see the clothes that you have on. That is an immediate signal.”
In hip-hop, the pressure to fit in and show off is heightened.
“You have a genre that historically has a lot of people who grew up with little to nothing,” Krishnamurthy said. “The aspiration is inherent.”
And probably no product has been as successful at connecting with hip-hop as footwear. Consequently, rappers get their own sneaker lines without ever taking part in a sport, said Harlan Friedman, host and creator of the Sole Free podcast on sneakers and street culture.
“A seventh grader can’t afford a $20,000 rope chain and medallion, but maybe he could afford a pair of (Nike) Dunks or a pair of (Air) Jordans or a pair of Adidas,” Friedman said. “That gives him that little bit of clout, that he’s like his favorite artist or athlete, and it kind of gives him that feeling like, ‘Oh, I’m like them.’”
Adidas was the first major company that saw rappers as potential business partners, Friedman said. But they had to be convinced.
Even though the company had seen an unusual spike in sales of its Superstar shoes in the Northeast in 1986, it wasn’t ready to attribute that to rap group Run-D.M.C. and their hit “My Adidas.”
When company execs saw the group ask fans to show off their Adidas and thousands removed their shoes and waved them in the air at a Madison Square Garden performance, they were sold. They signed Run-D.M.C. to a $1 million deal that resulted in their own shoe line in 1988.
Now that hip-hop is a multibillion dollar industry with widespread influence, it’s easy to forget it wasn’t always Courvoisier and Versace for its stars.
Even after Adidas’ success, companies still balked at partnering with hip-hop acts because they felt that “having young Black and brown people wearing their clothing simply wasn’t on brand and, in many ways, it was kind of denigrating their brand,” said Krishnamurthy, whose book will be released Oct. 10.
“But when that kind of money is being spent and people really saw the power that rappers had to change what somebody might wear, … they started taking notice,” she said.
These days, singer-and-sometimes-rapper Rihanna has a deal with Puma. Travis Scott has his line of Nikes with a backward swoosh. And Cardi B has her line of Reeboks.
Companies of all sorts now court rappers and their audiences, hoping to join the ranks of Timberland — which at first resisted associating with the genre it saw as being counter to its working-class base — Hennessy cognac and anything Gucci as hip-hop approved brands.
“They think, ‘We can either work with them and really embrace the culture or we’re going to miss out on being young, cool, and, of course, making money,’” Krishnamurthy said.
Few events in hip-hop culture’s ongoing march into the mainstream can match McDonald’s introduction of Saweetie ‘n Sour sauce for the fast food giant’s Chicken McNuggets in 2021. Packets of the sauce are now available for $20 apiece online.
At the time, the California rapper was far from a household name. But Jennifer Healan, McDonald’s USA’s vice president of brand, content, and culture, said Saweetie was a natural fit for the company’s “Famous Orders” campaign, which has also featured Scott as well as one of hip-hop’s biggest celebrity couples, Cardi B and her husband, Offset, for Valentine’s Day.
“Saweetie is a longtime McDonald’s fan, and she brought a unique twist to our campaign by mixing and matching her favorite menu items — which tapped into our fans’ passion for food hacks and new flavor combinations,” Healan said.
The promotion worked well for both McDonald’s, which Healan said led many to try Big Macs, and Saweetie, who soon had her own Netflix show and was a musical guest on “Saturday Night Live.”
Jake Bjorseth, founder and CEO of ad agency trndsttrs, which focuses on connecting companies with younger audiences, said he has been trying to get longtime client McDonald’s to commission an entire hip-hop album based around part of its jingle, “Ba da ba ba ba.”
The partnership between brands and musicians will only grow tighter in the next 10 years because audio is a more effective way to connect on social media, Bjorseth said. And hip-hop is more versatile at making those connections.
“Hip-hop is literally built from music being repurposed and remixed from previous genres,” he said. “ … I feel personally connected to hip-hop and it is a seamless, authentic connection and how we express ourselves.”
